Time Twins
by Yara Meijer
Summary: During the last match of the Ragnarok, Raimon vs The Lagoon, Saru tells Tenma something he really shouldn't have. Now the two of them have to deal with the trouble left by their parents - yep, THEIR parents. The big secret? Tenma and Saru are twins. The problem? The just-reunited twins have to split up again! "Great, Saru, just great. Couldn't you really just keep your mouth shut?"
1. Twins: Revelation

**Hey everyone!**

 **Okay… hahaha, another story, yes, I know. Not my brightest idea ever~!**

 **Well, I was watching Chrono Stone when I noticed – once again – that Saru and Tenma look alike. I think that Saru is Tenma's descendant, but I was thinking something along the lines of, 'hmm, wouldn't it be awesome if Tenma and Saru were twins?' and well, then my mind started to come up with ideas how that would be possible.**

 **So yeah, I decided to write this. The first part comes from episodes 49 and 50, the rest I made up. Hope you guys like it~!**

 **Disclaimer: don't own Inazuma Eleven or anything related.**

 **Please enjoy~!**

* * *

The ball starts is surrounded by a yellow light. Tenma, in Mixi Max form, kicks the ball from the other side of the field. ''Here we go! Torb!''

The dinosaur boy kicks the still glowing ball with a wordless scream towards Kinako, who kicks it to Tsurugi. ''Let's go!''

Tsurugi kicks the ball towards the next person. ''Nishiki-senpai!''

''Shinsuke!'' Nishiki shoots the ball towards the keeper, who shoots it away. ''Go!''

Shindou is the next one to receive the ball. ''Connect it!''

The ball flies towards Taiyou. ''Kirino-san!''

The defender receives it and shoots it away again. ''Zanark!''

Zanark kicks it to Fei with a wordless scream.

And finally, Fei kicks it to the captain. ''Tenma!''

The shoots connect, and form a glowing lightning bold. The point of the lightning bolt, where Tenma stands, starts to admit an intense light. ''Hissatsu Tactics!'' shout the members of Chrono Storm together. ''Grand Laster!''

Tenma stands on the ball, surrounded by the yellow light. His Mixi Trans disappears, and is replaced by his Keshin. ''Demon God Pegasus Arc!'' shouts the brunet. He throws his arms in the sky while crossing them. ''Armed!'' his Keshin changes in a blue golden light, that splits into seven separate light beams. The beams surround him, and form a white armor. White and red wings appear on his back, as the last beam shoots towards his forehead.

Tenma shoots forward, and the ball is surrounded by a golden glow. The brunet kicks the ball as hard as he can towards the goal. ''God Wind!''

It shoots towards the goal. The keeper puts out one hand in front of him, and the goal turns black and white. ''Reverse World.'' Then, the ball starts to admit a golden light, and breaks through the black and white, shooting in the net.

''Goal! Their teamwork play from a hissatsu tactics to a shoot goes in magnificently!'' exclaims the commentator. ''Chrono Storm's second point goes to Matsukaze!'' Chrono Storm and their allies start to cheer.

Saru grits his teeth in anger. How dare they? How dare those little humans? They are Second Stage Children! The future of the world! Then, the captain of The Lagoon smirks. No matter, they will still win this. First, he was still kind enough to just beat the hell out of the Chrono Storm team, not planning to use _that_ at all. But hey, they asked for it. And it will be fun for him to watch.

When Tenma returns to his position, he passes Saru by a few inches. When the other captain suddenly looks at him, the brunet stops in his tracks. The white-haired boy is smiling at him. ''Well, I've got to admit, that was surprising,'' whispers Saru, so soft they are the only ones who hear it. Tenma frowns, clearly noticing Saru is planning something. The white-haired captain smirks at him. ''For a while there, I was afraid you were going to disappoint me. But it turns out my fears were for nothing.'' Tenma is staring at Saru in confusion. The white-haired boy can barely contain his smirk. ''I wish you good luck for the rest of the game. You'll need it…'' Saru starts to move towards his position, and Tenma's eyes widen in shock when he registers what Saru just said to him. _''… brother.''_

The moment Tenma hears what Saru called him, he knows it is true. He can't tell how, but he just knows. That doesn't mean it doesn't come as a shock. The brunet stumbles, the sound around him fading. His heartbeat sounds loudly in his ears, and his vision starts to blur. He falls on his knees on the ground, staring at Saru's retreating back.

Fei frowns when he sees Saru talking to Tenma. He sees his friend frowning at Saru, clearly cautious. Tenma's expression turns to confusing, and a few moments later, Saru starts to walk away. Fei sees how his captain's eyes widen in shock, before he stumbles backwards and falls on his knees. ''Tenma!'' shouts Fei concerned when he sees his friend fall.

This catches the attention of the other Chrono Storm members. Fei starts running towards the brunet, and a few moments later, he reaches him. ''Tenma! Are you okay?'' asks the other boy, but the brunet doesn't seem to hear him.

They are soon joined by the other members of Chrono Storm, and Shindou kneels next to Fei and Tenma. ''Tenma? What's wrong?'' the captain doesn't reply, and worry appears on the faces of the players.

Fei stands up, and his gaze falls on Saru. ''What did you do to him?!'' demands Fei, and his teammates turn to look at the white-haired boy.

Saru just smirks. ''Me? I didn't do anything,'' says Saru, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Fei wants to shout something else, when he is stopped by a weak voice. ''Fei, stop.'' The green-haired boy looks at Tenma in shock, who smiles weakly. It's not very reassuring. ''I'm okay, really.'' The brunet stands up, and almost collapses again, if it wasn't for Shindou, who catches him. The brunet smiles at the concerned game maker, before standing on his own. ''By the way, we still have this match to win, don't we?''

After reassuring everyone he is okay, Tenma and his teammates take their positions again. The captain glances at his coach, who looks at him in concern. When the man notices him looking, he sends the brunet a questioning look, to which Tenma answers with a smile. Endou's frown only deepens, but he nods anyway.

The match continues, with the kick-off from The Lagoon. Even though they are worried about their captain, Chrono Storm fights on equal level with The Lagoon, especially when they notice that their captain is back in the game. Saru gets the ball, and Fei passes him, not even looking at the white-haired boy while he steals the ball. Saru turns around in shock. ''Fei!''

Apparently, Fei is still angry at him. ''King's Fangs Remastered!'' he exclaims, kicking with such force that the keeper doesn't even stand a chance. The score is now four against three for The Lagoon. Fei turns around and looks at Saru coldly. ''I don't know what you did, but I won't let you hurt Tenma again.''

Saru just smirks. ''Oh? You're one to talk. You were the one who used his Second Stage powers on his friends,'' replies the white-haired captain.

Fei grits his teeth. ''Shut up! You used me. Just be warned. If you ever-''

''Fei, that's enough!'' he turns around to look at Tenma in shock. When he tries to protest, Tenma holds up a hand to stop him. ''You aren't acting like yourself. Get your head in the game, Fei.'' Tenma's eyes wander to Saru, who smirks. ''And Saru holds no power over me. He shocked me, that's all. I'm sure he was lying, anyway.''

Saru's smirks widens. ''Oh, is that really what you think? It's not, is it? You _know_ that I was telling the truth. You can feel it,'' he says mockingly.

Tenma shakes his head, noticing that they have the attention from the entire field now. ''I don't care if you told the truth or not. I'll figure it out later. Right now, we have a match to win. Come on, Fei.'' The brunet turns around, walking towards his position, and Fei follows him without looking back at the still smirking soccer player behind him.

The match goes on, and Saru has the ball. He runs over the field, passing the players of the opposite team, when Tenma stops him. Saru tries to pass him, but Tenma doesn't give in. Saru grits his teeth in annoyance and kicks the ball forward, but Tenma stops him by kicking the ball the same time. They fight for the upper hand, until they are both pushed back. Tenma kicks the ball over the sidelines, and stumbles backwards.

He falls on one knee, gasping for air. At the same time, Saru turns to Gillis and Meia. ''We'll bring out our max power,'' he says, and their eyes widen.

Meia smiles hesitantly. ''But… will our bodies be able to handle it?'' she asks.

Saru glares at her. ''Do it!''

The next time Saru gets the ball, their passes are too fast to see. Finally, Saru shoots, and Torb, Kinako and Kirino jump in to stop the ball. They are blasted to the side by the power of the shot. It flies towards the goal, and Shinsuke frowns. ''I'll definitely stop it!'' a drawn world appears, and the ball flies towards the highest rock, where Shinsuke is standing. ''True Rejoice of the Country!''

He slams the ball down, but it is too powerful. Just before it enters the goal, Shindou and Tsurugi appear out of nowhere. ''Not yet!'' the ball bounces away from the goal, while Shindou, Tsurugi and Shinsuke fall on the ground, gasping.

Tenma looks around at his team, seeing a golden yellow glow surround his teammates for a few seconds. He joins Shindou and Tsurugi. ''Our Mixi Max is getting weaker…'' he says alarmed, looking at his friends. ''It will come undone soon.''

The two others frown. ''What should we do?'' mutters Shindou.

Tenma turns to face his team. ''Everyone! Let's bring out the last of our power to face them!'' he shouts. His teammates nod.

Then, a shout comes from the sidelines. ''What do you think is important to soccer?'' shouts Endou. ''Remember the soccer you love!''

Tenma's eyes widen. _'Our soccer… That's right… we're a team! We've accomplished so many things together! We worked together to conquer hardships.'_ Tenma smiles. ''That's what makes soccer fun!'' he exclaims.

Saru finally loses his cool, growling at the other captain. He runs forward, but Tenma steps in front of him. ''You think that's enough to stop me?!''

''Come on!'' exclaims Tenma, bracing himself. At the last moment, he slides out of the way, revealing Tsurugi who steals the ball from Saru. The ball rolls towards Tenma, and he stops it with his foot. Smiling, he looks up to face Saru. ''You say that all of you are the strongest, but we're the strongest when all eleven of us are together! The strongest eleven!''

Tenma turns to face his team after they've taken their positions again. ''Let's do it!'' he says, and his friends nod. They all close their eyes, connecting their power. They are all surrounded by a yellow golden fire. Then, they start to run forward. Tenma jumps, and the energy of his teammates gather around him. ''Strongest Eleven Surge!'' he shoots the ball, and it blasts all of The Lagoon's players away. Just when it is about to hit the goal, Saru jumps in front of it. It doesn't matter, the ball flies into the goal anyway, and the score is finally a tie.

Saru starts to scream in rage, and takes on his beast form. He runs forward, and one of his teammates passes him the ball. Nishiki and Zanark are thrown to the side when they try to stop him. Saru jumps over Fei's tackle, and keeps running. He passes the ball to Gillis, but it is stolen by Shindou, who passes it to Fei. Fei turns to face Saru, a small smile on his face. ''We are not alone!'' he exclaims, while Saru's beast form disappears.

At the same time, Tenma looks around at the exhausted forms of his friends. _'We're all at our limits. In that case, we'll just have to go all or nothing in our next play.'_ He takes a step forward. ''Guys!'' his teammates look up. ''All of us will attack!''

This gets their attention, as the members of Chrono Storm look at him in shock. Then, Shindou smiles. ''Our last play, huh?''

''Got it,'' says Tsurugi, smiling at the captain.

Zanark smirks, even though he clearly looks exhausted. ''I thought you'd say that.''

Fei also smiles at his friend. ''If that's your decision as captain…'' one by one, the Chrono Storm members agree.

They all activate their power one last time, and, surrounded by a golden light, they move forwards. At the same time, The Lagoon gets surrounded by the blueish purple light that belongs to their Second Stage Powers. ''It's your last useless struggle!'' exclaims Saru.

The two lights meet, and suddenly Tenma is somewhere else. He's floating in a white room, with numbers floating around him. When he turns around, he sees Saru.

The white-haired boy glares at him. ''We are different from you! We are superior humans born as the future of this world! So through this match, we will make you accept us!''

''Where's the difference?'' asks Tenma desperately. ''Whether we're superior or not, we're all humans! Of course each of us will be different! I don't know what you've been through, but there is no difference between you and me-''

''There is!'' Saru cuts him off. ''I am completely different from you! We are Second Stage Children!''

On the field, Saru pushes Tenma back, but, at the same time, injures his foot. The ball shoots away, but Fei gets it, and jumps like Tenma did before. Again, the energy of his teammates surround him. He shoots the ball. ''Strongest Eleven Surge!'' Saru can't make it back to the goal in time, but the rest of The Lagoon are already standing in front of it, a dark aura surrounding them. They are blasted to the side when the ball hits the goal, and Chrono Storm finally turns the score around.

The Mixi-Max finally disappears when the Chrono Storm members have used all their power. Saru wants to stand up again, but falls down because of his foot. ''What…? I can't stand…?'' he gasps. ''That can't be…'' his teammates surround him.

''Not yet.'' Saru looks up at Gillis in disbelief.

Meia kneels down beside Saru, smiling kindly. ''That's right. You can do this, Saru.''

Gillis continues. ''Let's play together, to the end.'' He offers a hand to Saru. ''You hate losing.''

''I won't lose…'' Saru looks up in determination. ''Who do you think I am?!'' and with that, he accepts Gillis' hand, and slowly he stands up.

The match continues, but this time, the two teams are having fun. They play the last few minutes of the match, Tenma and Saru running after the ball, before collapsing while the whistle sounds. ''Chrono Storm wins the final round!''

''Tenma!'' shouts Shinsuke, running at Tenma who is just sitting up. The keeper jumps and hugs his friend, causing the brunet to fall down again, just when his other teammates join them. The entire stadium cheers, and Chrono Storm is at the center of the attention.

Then, Tenma looks towards The Lagoon, where Saru is standing, smiling softly while surrounded by his teammates. He excuses himself, walking slowly towards Saru. The white-haired boy's eyes widen in shock when Tenma offers him his hand. He smiles while the two shake hands. ''Thank you.''

Tenma smiles at him. ''So you see now?''

Saru nods. ''Yes. We are all friends. We'll do as El Dorado proposed and give up our Second Stage Children powers…''

Tenma hesitates for a moment, looking at Saru with hesitant eyes. ''Saru, what you said earlier…'' he begins, and the two teams, who are listening to the conversation, frown, as they have no idea what Tenma means.

The white-haired boy sighs, and nods. ''Yes. It's true.''

Tenma's eyes widen. ''B-but how is that possible? I mean, I'm from…'' he trails off.

The other shakes his head. ''No, you're not. I'm sorry, Tenma, but everything you've known so far…''

Tenma stares at Saru in shock, as he sees his whole world shatter around him. ''No way…''

Saru's eyes widen in shock when he sees Tenma's eyes close. The brunet stumbles, and falls forward. Saru catches him before he hits the ground. ''Tenma! Can you hear me? Tenma!'' the white-haired boy kneels on the ground, holding the unconscious brunet in his arms.

The two teams run towards their captains in shock, surrounding them. Tsurugi is the first one of Chrono Storm to arrive, and looks alarmed at his friend. ''What's wrong with him?'' asks the navy-haired boy, looking at Saru for a moment.

The others arrive just when Saru answers. ''He's just unconscious. He's exhausted and in shock, so this was to be expected. Don't worry, I think he'll be fine.'' The other players sigh in relief. ''Let's get him to his room, he needs rest.''

* * *

After the brunet is taken to his room, Saru is standing in the halls of the stadium, when he hears his name. ''Saru!"

The white-haired boy turns around, eyes widening in surprise when he sees a familiar figure running towards him. ''Fei?''

The other smiles sheepishly. ''Sorry for acting like I did. I hope we can still be friends?'' asks the greenhead, looking seriously at Saru.

The white-haired boy looks at him in disbelief. ''I'm the one who should apologize. I never thought about my actions, and made you hurt your friends… I'm sorry, Fei. And thank you, for helping me see what I didn't see before,'' answers the other, and Fei smiles.

* * *

Tenma groans softly, and blinks. The first thing he notices, is that it's dark. The brunet sits up, and sees that he's still wearing his soccer uniform. He looks around, finally seeing that he is in his room. Moonlight shines through the window, giving him a little bit of light to see by.

The door opens, and someone walks inside, though Tenma can't see who it is because it's too dark. His question is answered when he hears a voice. ''Hey,'' says the unknown person softly.

Tenma raises his eyebrows in surprise. ''Saru? Is that you?'' he asks, and the other chuckles. When the other walks forward, the light from the moon falls on his face, showing that it is, indeed, Saru.

The white-haired boy sits down in a chair next to the boy. ''Good morning, Tenma,'' he says, and smiles at the confused look he receives. ''It's six in the morning, and almost everyone is still asleep,'' he explains.

''Then, what are you doing up? What are you doing here?'' asks the brunet, and Saru shrugs.

''I'm used being up so early, to train. I don't have to train anymore now, but I still woke up early,'' he explains. ''I had a feeling you would wake up soon, so I decided to check on you, before you got up and got yourself in some kind of trouble.''

Tenma frowns. ''How long have I been out?'' he asks Saru, who shakes his head.

''Since the match yesterday, so I guess it would be… sixteen hours? Fifteen? Everyone was really worried when you suddenly collapsed.'' Saru smiles sheepishly. ''I guess it's also my fault, for shocking you like that.''

Tenma's eyes widen in alarm. ''What did you mean? Are we really…''

''Brothers?'' finishes Saru for him, and nods. ''Yeah. Twins, actually.''

Tenma looks at him in shock, and Saru stays quiet so the other can process the new information. Finally, Tenma opens his mouth, and asks a question that makes Saru sweat-drop. ''Who is the oldest?''

Saru chuckles. ''That would be me. So, I guess you want the full story?'' he asks, and the brunet nods. ''In this time, thirteen years ago, there were two people. A married couple. Their names were Naomi Evan and Shou Evan. About ten years before, the first Second Stage Children were born, and those children were now teens. That was when the war between the Second Stage Children and the rest of the world started. Naomi and Shou were scientists, and were part of the group who tried to make peace with the Second Stage Children, while, at the same time, trying to create a cure. It was a hard life, and they were in constant danger, but they both wanted to help the children. It was then, thirteen years ago, that Naomi got pregnant.'' Saru stops for a moment, looking at the younger boy who is listening carefully to him. ''Nine months later, she gave birth to twins, two healthy baby boys. The two were almost identical, save for their hair and eye colors. The oldest had white hair and purple eyes. They called him Saryuu. The other had brown hair and grey eyes, and they named him Tenma.''

Tenma looks at him in shock and confusion. ''What happened then?''

Saru sighs. ''The two of them both had Second Stage genes, which gave them the possibility to become Second Stage Children. Do you know, Tenma, why this world fears Second Stage Twins more than anything else?'' Tenma shakes his head. ''It's because twins hold so much power together. When Naomi and Shou found out about the genes, they didn't know what to do. When the twins were two years old, Saryuu started to develop his powers, but Tenma stayed normal. It happens quite often, actually. A baby is born with the right genes, and has the potential to become a Second Stage Child, but doesn't. Tenma was such a child. But even so, he still had those genes, and his brother was a Second Stage Child. This made them Second Stage Twins, and Naomi and Shou knew that they would be killed if the world ever found out. So they did the only thing they could do at the time. They sent Tenma away, to another time. He didn't have his powers, and living in a world without the Second Stage Children made the possibility that he would awaken at a later time very small. Naomi and Shou knew that the bond between the twins would always be there, no matter the age difference, so they sent Tenma so far back that he would never live long enough to meet Saryuu. Two hundred years in the past. What they never expected, however, was for Tenma to travel through time to save the future, and meeting his twin brother in the process.''

The two stay silent, lost in their own thoughts. Then Tenma speaks up. ''What happened to Saryuu?''

Saru smiles softly. ''His parents raised him, keeping his Second Stage Powers hidden from the world. When he turned nine, however, his powers were revealed. The people who were against the Second Stage Children came to their house one night, and Naomi told her son to run away. He did as was told, and watched as his house, with his parents inside it, was burned to the ground.'' Tenma looks horrified. ''He joined Feida, and became its leader. You know the rest of the story.''

Tenma frowns. ''That's horrible. By the way… if Second Stage Twins are so dangerous, is it okay for us to be in each other's company?'' he asks Saru.

The white-haired boy smiles and nods. ''Don't worry. I gave up my powers yesterday. Because we still have the Second Stage genes, we can still use our powers if we work together, but there won't be any side-effects, and our powers will only activate if we both want it to. So it's okay,'' he tells the other, and Tenma smiles brightly at him. The silence returns, and this time, it's Saru who breaks it. ''What do you think of all… this?''

Tenma sighs. ''I'm not sure, honestly. I'm shocked that my life… everything I thought to be true, is fake. My parents aren't my real parents, I have a creepy older monkey twin brother from 200 years in the future," Saru snorts at this, "and even my name is wrong!"

Saru shakes his head, smiling at the younger. ''That's not true, Tenma. Even though it's not your birth name, you _are_ Matsukaze Tenma. But you are also Tenma Evan. A name doesn't change who you are inside.'' Saru pauses for a moment, before taking something out of his pocket. ''I wanted to show you this.''

Saru pushes a button on the small device, and a picture appears in the air, giving of a weak light. In the picture are two boys, about a year or three. They are sitting next to each other, smiling brightly. Their faces are identical, but one of them has white hair and dark violet eyes, and the other has brown hair and grey eyes.

Tenma stares at the photo, taking in all the details. Then, his gaze falls on the white-haired boy. ''Saru…''

Saru stops him by holding up a hand. ''Call me Saryuu. It's my name, after all.'' He smiles at the younger.

Tenma smiles back. ''Okay… Saryuu-nii-san.''

Saru's… no, Saryuu's eyes widen in shock, before he smiles a soft, kind smile. ''Thank you, little brother.''

The two sit in silence for a while longer, and the sky outside the window turns from a dark grey to a greyish blue, as the sun slowly rises. Then, Saryuu stands up and smiles at the younger twin. ''I think it's time that you take a shower.'' The white-haired boy nods towards the door that leads to the bathroom. ''Breakfast starts in twenty minutes, and you haven't had the chance to shower after the match. I'll be waiting here, okay?''

The brunet nods, leaving the room. After he is done with showering, he joins the older boy where they head to the dining room. When they reach the doors to the dining room, they hear sounds coming from the room behind them. Saryuu smiles. ''I think everyone is already eating. We're a bit late, and they probably didn't want to wake you up if you were still sleeping.'' The Lagoon's captain smirks darkly. ''And my… friends have learned to let me do my own thing in the morning.'' Tenma looks at him in horror. They stare at each other for a moment before the two brothers start to chuckle.

After they are done with laughing, the brunet turns to the doors. ''What if they ask what you told me yesterday?'' he asks hesitantly.

Saryuu places a hand on his shoulder, smiling encouragingly. ''It's your own choice. You can tell them if you want, but I can also understand if you want to keep it a secret. If you don't want to tell them, I'll keep quiet too.'' The brunet nods, and the two of them walk through the doors leading to the dining room.

A big table is standing in the middle of the hall. Sitting at the table are the members of Chrono Storm, Raimon, the Feida teams, and the Protocol Omega teams. The teams are mixed with each other, chattering with the players from other teams. It's too noisy to hear the doors open, so the twins almost don't get any attention when they enter the room.

That changes, however, when Gillis notices them. ''Saru!'' he says surprised. Clearly, he didn't think that his captain would show up. Then the boy looks at the brunet standing next to Saryuu. ''And Matsukaze?''

At Tenma's name, all the Raimon and Chrono Storm members look up, wanting to see for themselves if their captain is alright. Tenma smiles hesitantly at all the attention, and Saryuu, who notices, pulls him to two empty chairs. The two captains sit down next to each other. Right from Tenma sits Fei and left from him sits his brother. Left from Saryuu sits Gillis, of course, next to Meia.

Fei looks relieved to see his captain awake, and smiles at him. ''Tenma, good morning! You have no idea how worried we all were!'' the brunet chuckles, and Fei looks past him. ''Good morning to you too, Saru.''

''Yeah, yeah, good morning,'' answers Saru, and smiles at Tenma's confused look. ''We made up yesterday,'' explains the white-haired captain, and his twin nods in understanding.

Fei smiles at the brunet. ''When did you wake up?'' he asks.

Tenma shrugs. ''Um, around six o'clock, I guess. At least, that's what Sary- um, Saru said.'' Luckily, Fei doesn't notice the slip up, or doesn't point it out.

Instead, the green-haired boy frowns. ''Saru? He was with you this morning?''

Saryuu is the one who answers this time. ''To make sure Tenma wouldn't walk around and cause trouble,'' answers the white-haired boy with a shrug, ignoring the 'hey!' from his twin brother. ''And to explain some… things I said before,'' adds The Lagoon's captain after a moment of thought.

This earns Gillis's attention, who turns away from the conversation with his girlfriend. ''Yeah, what was that all about yesterday?'' he asks, and looks curiously at the two captains. Meia leans forward to get a good look at the twins too.

Saryuu looks at Tenma, and opens his mouth to answer. ''Just something-''

''It's okay, I'll tell them.'' Tenma cuts him off.

The older boy frowns, looking a bit concerned. ''You sure you want to tell them? I mean, it's kind of personal…'' he trails off, earning curious looks from the other three ex-Second Stage Children.

Tenma nods. ''Yeah, I'm sure.'' He looks up, meeting Fei's concerned eyes. ''Saru told me something important about my family.'' Meia and Gillis nod, starting a conversation with Saryuu, but Fei doesn't look convinced.

''Really, Tenma? I saw how you reacted on the field,'' protests the green-haired boy.

Tenma smiles at him, noticing Saryuu who is keeping an eye on him while talking to Meia and Gillis. The twins share a look, a silent conversation going on between them for a second. Then Saryuu nods, and Tenma turns to Fei again. ''Fine, I'll tell you, if you promise to not tell anyone and to not freak out.''

Fei nods. ''I promise.''

When Tenma hears his answer, the brunet leans forward. ''Saru and I…'' he begins, talking so softly that Fei almost can't hear it. The green-haired boy leans forward so he can hear it better. ''We're twins.''

For a moment, Fei is silent, taking in what the brunet just said. Then he sits straight, eyes wide, staring in shock at his captain. ''W-what?! Are you serious?'' he almost shouts, earning the attention of every Raimon and Chrono Storm member present, who have been keeping an eye on their captain. Tenma just nods silently, expecting this reaction. ''But- that shouldn't be- I mean, you're-''

''Wow, Fei, calm down!'' Saryuu says worriedly. The green-haired boy just stares at him. ''You need air to live!''

Fei's eyes go from Saryuu to Tenma and back. Then, the boy shakes his head, relaxing in his seat. ''That sounds impossible, you know?''

At the same time, the twins nod. ''That was my reaction,'' says Tenma at the same time that Saryuu says ''that was his reaction.''

The greenhead smiles when he hears that. ''That convinced me.'' Noticing the looks they are getting, Fei starts to talk softer. ''I'll drop it for now, but I want the full story later.''

* * *

After breakfast, Tenma and Saryuu leave the dining room. For a few minutes they just wander through the halls, when they hear footsteps behind them. The two turn around to see Fei, with Raimon and Chrono Storm – except Zanark – behind him. At Saryuu's questioning look, Fei smiles sheepishly. ''They deserve to hear the story too.''

Saryuu's eyes narrow. ''Did you tell them?'' he asks in a low, dangerous tone. ''Because I believe that we're the only ones who have the right to tell something like that.''

Fei shakes his head in denial. ''No, I promised not to tell.'' Saryuu nods.

''Tenma? Are you okay?'' the brunet looks down when he feels something pull his sleeve, smiling when he sees Shinsuke gazing worriedly at him.

The captain nods. ''I'm fine.''

Shinsuke looks relieved but still worried. He wants to say something else, but Tsurugi beats him to it. ''So, what was that all about? I've seen you been beaten up during a soccer match more than once, and you've never once collapsed after.''

Fei and Saryuu turn their attention to Raimon's captain when they hear the question. Tenma looks at his team uncomfortably, not meeting their eyes for longer than a second. ''Tenma?'' asks Shindou worriedly when his captain doesn't say anything.

The brunet looks up. ''Promise not to get angry at Saryuu?'' he asks, forgetting about his brother's codename.

''Saryuu?'' asks Shindou surprised, and The Lagoon's captain smirks.

''He means me. Saru is my codename,'' answers the white-haired boy. ''My real name is Saryuu Evan.'' Shindou nods in understanding. Saryuu walks forward and places a hand on Tenma's shoulder. ''And his real name is Tenma Evan.''

Shindou's eyes widen in shock, his teammates having similar reactions. Tenma takes this chance to talk, not giving his friends the time to say anything. ''Aoi noticed it before, that we look a lot like each other. The reason why we look so similar… Saryuu and I are twins.''

Saryuu continues when Tenma stops talking. ''In our world, Second Stage Twins are feared, even more so than Second Stage Children, because twins are so much stronger. Tenma and I were both born with Second Stage genes, thus making us Second Stage Twins.''

''My Second Stage powers didn't develop, though, but Saryuu's did,'' says Tenma. ''Even so, having Second Stage genes made us Second Stage Twins. Together, we are incredibly strong in our Second Stage powers.''

The older twin nods. ''Our parents sent Tenma away, to another time. That way, we would never meet each other, and our powers would stay hidden. By sending Tenma back to the past, they decreased the possibility that his powers would awaken at a later time.''

Raimon's captain nods. ''But they didn't expect that I would go to the future – or the original time – to save soccer, together with my friends, and meet my twin brother.''

Fei is, at this point, the only one who isn't in shock. The greenhead nods in understanding. ''That explains everything. The reason why Tenma has Second Stage genes, why you two look so much alike, and how it is possible that you two are twins…''

Raimon still doesn't react. They are gaping at the twins with wide eyes. ''Um...'' begins Tenma. ''Are you guys okay?''

No reaction.

''Hello? Anybody home?''

Still no reaction.

Fei and Tenma share a look, and the greenhead waves a hand in front of Kariya's face. ''Helllooooo? Are you still alive?'' asks Fei, but the tealhead doesn't react.

For a moment, the twins and the rabbit just look at each other, before Tenma looks at his brother and breaks the silence. ''I think you broke them.''

Saru sweat-drops and chuckles nervously. ''Ah... you might be right about that...''

The greenhead sighs and looks at his white-haired friend. ''This is your fault, you know. You were the one who decided to go all 'evil-mastermind' and tell Tenma about being twins.''

''When you put it like that...'' Saru's eyebrow begins to twitch. ''I have to admit that you're right...''

Tenma frowns. ''But Saryuu! They're my teammates!''

''Great, Saru, just great,'' says Fei, glaring weakly at The Lagoon's captain. ''Couldn't you really just keep your mouth shut?''

''I'm sorry!'' protests the white-haired boy. ''I really wasn't counting on this!''

Tenma shadows his eyes with his bangs, a depressed aura surrounding him. ''You are evil, Saru.''

''T-Tenma...?''

Fei nods in agreement. ''He's right, Saru. Breaking people isn't nice, especially if they're your brother's teammates.''

''I said I'm sorry!''

The silence returns, as the three of them inspect the Raimon Eleven again. ''...Do you think they're still breathing?'' asks Tenma finally.

Fei shrugs. ''Probably. They're not turning blue.''

The silence that follows is once again broken by the brunet. ''...What should we do with them?''

''How should I know?'' asks Saryuu, before an evil glint appears in his purple eyes. ''We can always use them as target practice while dressing them up in pink tutus?''

''...'' Fei and Tenma sweat-drop at the white-haired boy. ''What did they ever do to you? You really are evil,'' decides the greenhead finally.

''Don't use my teammates as target practice! And don't dress them up in tutus!'' protests Tenma.

An evil grin appears on Saryuu's face. ''But it would make for great blackmail material.''

Tenma is silent, and just when Fei thinks that the brunet is going to protest again, he looks up with a grin equal to the one that Saryuu has. ''That it would.''

The rabbit just sighs and turns back to Raimon. The twins just stare at him, wondering what he is going to do, when the greenhead raises his hands and claps loudly, the sound echoing through the hall.

''UWAAH!'' shrieks almost half of Raimon as they flinch back from the sound, stumbling over each other in the process and falling on the ground in a huge mountain of human limbs, still shrieking. The three watching just sweat-drop at the scene.

Grumbling, their friends untangle themselves from their human mountain - which isn't easy, with a lot of falling over and having to start again - as the other three do nothing to help and just watch.

When Raimon is finally standing again, they all stare at the twins. ''So...'' starts Kirino finally, breaking the awkward silence. ''You two really are... twins?''

''Yep!'' Tenma nods happily.

Taiyou inspects the brunet and his brother. ''Well, you two _do_ look alike, but...''

''But how do we know that Saru- Saryuu is telling the truth?'' finishes Tsurugi, looking at the twins. The forward is still looking surprised, but seems to accept the story after their huge 'human mountain' adventure.

Shindou nods at the words of his blue-haired friend. ''Yeah… it's sounds… logical, when you explain it like that, but still…'' he trails off, feeling uncomfortable to think about the brunet and the white-haired boy as twins.

''I know it sounds strange, but…'' Tenma looks at Saryuu, frowning. Then he looks at his team. ''I know it's true. I can't explain how, but… I can feel it.''

Shindou nods in understanding, deciding to believe his captain's words. Tsurugi nods too, still looking a bit hesitant, but also trusting his friend's judgement. Kirino frowns. ''This does complicate things, though,'' says the pink-haired defender. At the questioning looks, his frown deepens. ''I mean, does Tenma belong with us, in the past, or… does he belong here, in the time where he was originally born?''

Tenma pales when he realizes what Kirino means, and his brother sighs. ''I'm sorry about that. First, I was simply deciding to crush Raimon,'' he says, earning a few raised eyebrows, ''and not talk about this at all. But then… well, I was pissed off, and I decided to shock Tenma with telling him about this. Otherwise, I wouldn't have told him, ever. Even when he would return to the past, I'd keep it a secret…'' The Lagoon's captain trails off.

''But won't it change the timeline?'' asks Fei, and all eyes land on him. ''Having someone from the future live in the past, I mean. Didn't your parents think about the changes that Tenma could make? In what way he could change the future?'' he looks at Saryuu.

The white-haired boy shrugs. ''Well, yeah. But they couldn't have predicted that it would make changes as big as this. And they had to choose. Change the time, or let us be killed. They probably should've let us be killed for the greater good, but they couldn't,'' he says. ''And it is possible to send someone to live in another time, even though it could change the timeline. Time is unpredictable, and the events that take place can't be controlled. It's not set in stone. And our parents made preparations.''

Fei frowns at this. ''Saru- sorry, Saryuu… you're not talking about _that_ … are you?'' when Saryuu doesn't react, his eyes widen. ''But- that's strictly forbidden! If it goes wrong-''

''-but it didn't go wrong, did it?'' Saryuu cuts him off, and Fei looks at him in surprise. The Lagoon's captain sighs. ''I know that it's forbidden, but it worked. Because of that, Tenma can only live in the past.''

''What do you mean?'' asks Tenma, looking curiously at the older twin. ''How can I only live in the past?''

Saryuu smiles at him, a soft smile that not even Fei has seen before. ''It's called Gene Search. It's a device that is strictly forbidden here, because it hasn't been proven safe yet. You take the genes of a person, and the Gene Search will try to find a match in time.''

''A match in time?'' asks Taiyou, looking cautiously at Saryuu.

The older twin nods. ''It will search for a matching set of genes in time. At this point, it can only search in the past, but the original idea was that it would search in all times – past, present and future. Normally, those genes belong to a family member,'' explains Saryuu, and understanding is shown on the faces of Raimon. ''Tell me, do you believe in fate?''

''Fate?'' exclaims Tenma in surprise, not expecting such a question. ''I- I'm not sure, I never really thought about it… but I guess I do, kind of…'' he frowns. ''In matches, I think it's more important that you do what you can, but things like meeting Fei and you…''

Saryuu nods in understanding at his twin's answer. ''Well, I'm not sure if I believe in fate either, but I think that everyone has a certain path in life. The Gene Search searches for matching genes, and… I'm not sure how exactly, but it places you in the life of that person – the 'path' that that person follows becomes your own path. In other words, you take the life from that person. That way, you don't change time, because it was meant to be in the first place,'' explains the white-haired teen.

''So you're saying that your parents used this 'Gene Search' on Tenma-kun…?'' asks Kariya, frowning.

The Lagoon's captain nods. ''Yes. They didn't want to change the original timeline to much, so they used the Gene Search. And they did find a match – the son of Matsukaze Shiori and Matsukaze Kichirou. That's where our parents sent you, to become their son, Matsukaze Tenma.'' Saryuu pauses for a moment to gather his thoughts. ''But… the path that you follow is an important one. You're Raimon's captain, Chrono Storm's, and you'll become the captain of a few others. You're the only one who can fulfill that path, and it must be fulfilled.''

''In other words…'' says Fei softly, ''even if you wanted to, you can't live here. You have to go back to the past.''

''And when you do… I'm not sure if we'll ever see each other again,'' finishes Saryuu, gazing sadly at his twin. ''Maybe when time travel becomes easier, I'll be able to visit you, but that could take more than twenty years.''

Tenma stares at him in disbelief and shock. ''N-no way…'' he looks at the ground, hiding his eyes in the shadows of his bangs. ''So… that means I'll never see you again?''

Raimon shares uneasy looks, unhappy with seeing their captain so sad. ''Tenma…'' says Fei softly.

Saryuu looks at the brunet with a sad look, and places a hand on his shoulder. ''Don't be so down, Tenma.'' When the younger looks up, the white-haired boy smiles at him. ''I won't give up on you so easily. I'm sure I can find a way to come visit you.'' At this, he grins darkly, and the Raimon members shiver, while Tenma just brightens.

''Really?'' asks the brunet hopefully, and his twin nods.

Fei smiles at the two. ''And Raimon can still stay here for a little while,'' he says, gaining the attention of his friends. ''I'm sure we can also stall a bit, maybe allowing you to stay a week or two… and we can also try to convince Toudou-san to allow Saryuu to travel back to the past to visit you. As a… thank you, for everything you've done for us.''

''Ara…'' mutters Kariya, ''who was Toudou-san again…?''

His friends sweat-drop as Saru answers. ''Toudou-san is El Dorado's leader.''

''Oh!'' Kariya nods in understanding. ''That grumpy old man!''

Cue to even more sweat-drops.

Then Tenma turns back to Saryuu. ''So… we will see each other again?''

The other grins. ''And you can't forget about the next week, right? We've got a lot to catch up on!''

* * *

 **Well… twelve pages, not bad, huh?**

 **So guys, tell me what you think and if I should continue this~! If I do, the updates might be a bit slow, because I'm still working on some of my other stories.**

 **Bye bye~!**

 **\- Yara Meijer**


	2. Twins: Permission

**Hello my dear readers!**

 **Well, it took me a** _ **long**_ **time to write this chapter. Why? The enemy of all writers: writer's block. But in the end, I suddenly got the urge to write this, and well… I just did!**

 **Reviews:**

 _ **Aquila Aqua:**_ **Thank you for the review. I also have no idea what will happen next, but I hope you enjoy it :)**

 _ **Nishime Asako:**_ **Sorry for the late update, hope you enoy~!**

 _ **Eme Hire:**_ **Hahaha, here's chapter two~!**

 _ **Roxie11:**_ **Enjoy~!**

 _ **Shiranai Atsune:**_ **One happy ending on the way! I was planning to make this a fun fic, but I don't know if I get the humor right… I usually don't write things like that.**

 _ **IeGBestfriend:**_ **Hahaha, overprotective, huh? This review actually gave me some inspiration! I hadn't thought about Saryuu being protective, but now that I think about it, that sounds really nice~! I hope you enjoy this chapter~!**

 _ **Qaust:**_ **I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. Yeah, everyone's going to find out eventually. You read another story of mine? If you don't mind me asking, which one? Thank you for calling me an amazing writer~! It makes me really happy! I just try my best at my stories, so I'm really glad to hear you enjoy them.**

 _ **TokusatsuLuv:**_ **Well, wait no more, because here is the next chapter!**

 **Thank you for the reviews and favorites/follows. I am very glad to see you guys like this fic.**

 **Disclaimer: don't own**

 **Well then, please enjoy!**

* * *

 _Fei smiles at the two. ''And Raimon can still stay here for a little while,'' he says, gaining the attention of his friends. ''I'm sure we can also stall a bit, maybe allowing you to stay a week or two… and we can also try to convince Toudou-san to allow Saryuu to travel back to the past to visit you. As a… thank you, for everything you've done for us.''_

 _''Ara…'' mutters Kariya, ''who was Toudou-san again…?''_

 _His friends sweat-drop as Saru answers. ''Toudou-san is El Dorado's leader.''_

 _''Oh!'' Kariya nods in understanding. ''That grumpy old man!''_

 _Cue to even more sweat-drops._

 _Then Tenma turns back to Saryuu. ''So… we will see each other again?''_

 _The other grins. ''And you can't forget about the next week, right? We've got a lot to catch up on!''_

* * *

''Come on, slowpoke!'' grins Saryuu as he runs up the stairs. It's been a few hours since breakfast and their confrontation with Raimon, and now the older twin is 'kidnapping' his younger brother, like he so nicely put it.

Tenma follows his brother up the stairs. ''Wait up! Where are we going?'' he yells back, but the other doesn't answer. ''Saryuu!'' whines the brunet, and only receives a chuckle in return.

The twins are currently going up the stairs, with Tenma having no idea where they are going. He only knows that they've been walking quite a while.

The white-haired boy looks over his shoulder and smiles. ''We're almost there!'' he says, and keeps climbing the stairs.

Tenma just follows him in quiet confusion. A few moments later, they reach the top of the stairs. Saryuu smiles at his brother and walks through the hall at the end of the stairs. The brunet follows him, and they reach a door.

The older twin pushes on a button next to the door, and it slides open. Light comes from the doorway, but Saryuu pays it no mind and just walks forward. His younger brother follows him in confusion.

Tenma's mouth falls open once he steps through the doorway, while Saryuu watches him with an amused expression. ''Th-this is…''

The blue sky stretches out high above them, white cotton clouds floating lazily through the endless blue. The roof they are standing on is surrounded by a railing, to keep people from falling off. Tenma slowly walks forward in awe, leaning on the railing and watching the city beneath him. Skyscrapers rise up from the ground far beneath him, more advanced than he has ever seen before. Dozens of people are hurrying along the streets far below.

The brunet notices absentmindedly that his brother leans on the railing next to him, watching out over the city. ''Wow…'' mutters Tenma, not tearing his eyes away from the scene. ''It's so… different,'' he whispers softly.

Saryuu sighs, and Tenma's eyes fall on him. The white-haired boy has a soft, sad smile on his face as he gazes at the city. ''I wanted to show you this,'' says Saryuu softly. ''Your home. The place you should've grown up in…''

Tenma hesitates for a moment and looks back at the city. ''My… home…''

''Yeah,'' agrees his twin softly. ''We should've grown up here together. There are so many things you have missed.''

Silence falls between them, as the brothers simply stare at the scene beneath him, both lost in their own thoughts. _'My home. This is where I was born,'_ thinks Tenma. _'What would my life have been like if I grew up here, with my brother? Would my Second Stage powers have developed, and would I have joined Feida together with Saryuu? Or maybe I would've died together with my parents, in the fire…'_

''What is it like?''

Tenma blinks and looks at his twin in confusion. ''What do you mean?''

The older one turns around and leans his back against the railing, looking up at the sky. ''The past, I mean. What is your life like?'' he asks, not looking at the younger twin.

Tenma looks up at the sky too, thinking about his answer. ''Well… it's…'' he sighs, also turning around and sitting down on the roof, leaning against the railing. He pulls his legs up to his chest and rests his chin on his knees. ''I grew up in Okinawa, one of the islands of Japan,'' he starts slowly. ''My life was… normal, I guess, until I went on a vacation with my… adoptive parents when I was three. Mom and I were walking back from the beach, when I saw a puppy who was stuck between a few planks that were threatening to fall on him. I saved it from the planks, but I tripped and the planks almost fell on me. That's when, out of nowhere, someone shot a soccer ball that hit the planks. The soccer ball had the Raimon logo drawn on it. That's where my love for soccer started,'' explains Tenma.

Saryuu frowns at the thought of his twin being in danger, and slowly sits down next to the brunet. ''You were saved by soccer,'' mutters the older twin, and Tenma nods with a bright smile on his face.

The brunet looks at the sky again and his smile shrinks to a gentler one. ''Hai,'' he agrees softly. ''From then on, it was my dream to play for Raimon. It took a lot of convincing, but my parents eventually agreed to let me go to Inazuma Town. I moved in with my relative, Kino Aki, when I was nine. I practiced dribbling on my own a lot,'' the brunet chuckles at the memory. ''Four years after I moved in with Aki-nee, about… four months ago, I finally joined Raimon.''

The silence returns as Saryuu progresses everything he has just heard while Tenma thinks back on the last four months with Raimon.

An hour passes as the brunet tells his twin about everything he has been through ever since he joined Raimon: the Holy Road tournament, his Keshin, God Eden, El Dorado, Keshin Armed, Mixi-Max, Feida, everything. Eventually, the older twin stands up and offers his brother a hand.

The brunet grabs the outstretched hand and Saryuu pulls him to his feet. ''Come on, I think the others will be looking for us by now,'' says the white-haired boy with a smile, and the twins head back to the stairs.

* * *

The twins are talking quietly, walking through the halls in the direction of Raimon's suite, the rooms the Raimon and Chrono Storm teams are currently occupying. There is one 'main' room, and from there lead different hallways to the rooms of the players.

When Saryuu and Tenma enter the main room, they are surprised to find most members of both teams there, just hanging around. Some of them are playing games or watching TV, and others are just doing their own thing.

There are a few greetings, but most soccer players are too busy with what they're doing to look up. The twins share a look and sit down on one of the couches, continuing their conversation, when suddenly Shinsuke sits down next to Tenma. The two don't really pay attention to him, but the small boy keeps staring at them.

After a few minutes of staring, Tenma faces the keeper. ''Um… Shinsuke, is something wrong?''

The other boy tilts his head a bit, debating if he should say something or not. ''Hmm… who is the oldest?'' he asks finally.

Tenma and Saryuu share a look, and then the white-haired boy grins and slings an arm around his brother's shoulders. ''You really think my cute little otouto here could be the oldest?'' he smirks at the glare the brunet shoots him. ''Don't glare at your dear older brother, Ten~ma~chan~!''

''How much older can you be anyway?'' the younger twin pouts slightly, and Saru gets a thoughtful look on his face.

''Hmm… not sure, but maybe I can…'' he mutters to himself, and his twin raises an eyebrow. He shakes his head, shoving the idea to the back of his mind.

Shinsuke watches silently at the two bickering twins, and decides to interrupt. ''Birthday?'' he asks.

The twins don't even look at each other as they answer. ''May 27th,'' they answer together, their voices in perfect sync.

''Favorite food?''

Tenma smiles. ''Mitarashi dango,'' he says, Saru nodding in agreement.

''Favorite color?'' the question comes from Shindou, who is sitting on the couch facing theirs and was previously reading a book. Now however, the game maker seems more interested in the conversation and puts his novel down.

''Green,'' answers Tenma immediately. His twin frowns and shakes his head. ''Green is nice, but orange is better,'' says the white-haired boy.

Tenma's metallic blue eyes meet Saryuu's dark violet ones. ''Orange is my second favorite. Green looks nicer,'' he mutters.

Before the twins can start a fight, Kirino speaks up from where he is sitting next to Shindou. ''Favorite animal?''

''Monkeys,'' mutters Saryuu.

Tenma shoots him a _look_ and proudly declares, ''dogs.''

''Which word would you use to describe the other?'' asks Taiyou, also joining in on the conversation. They are getting more and more spectators by the minute, all interested in the little question game going on.

''Evil.''

''Soccer.''

Guess who said what?

''Favorite season?'' the question is asked by Fei who looks up from the card game he was playing with Kinako, both players more interested in the twins than their game.

''Spring,'' say two voices at the same time.

''If you were a cake which cake would you be?'' asks Kinako, and everyone stares at her.

''What kind of question is that?'' asks Saryuu at the exact same time Tenma answers ''brown sugar apple upside down cake with apple cider caramel and chocolate sauce.''

Saryuu gives him a look.

Tenma looks back without blinking.

''…''

''…''

''…''

''You cannot deny you like it too.''

''…''

''…''

''You win,'' mutters Saryuu with a sigh.

Tenma cheers.

''Why would you even want to be a cake?'' asks the white-haired boy.

The brunet shrugs. ''I never said I wanted to be a cake, but if I had to be a cake, I'd want to be a tasty one.''

''Why? So people can eat you?''

''Not a chance. I'd eat myself before they ever could.''

''Your logic is _so_ disturbing.''

''Says the human monkey.''

''You're being cheeky. It's not like you.''

''You're being nice.''

''…Point taken.''

The others in the room watch silently as the twins don't even seem to think about their words. Finally Shinsuke decides to ask another question. ''Are you two identical?''

Everyone stares at him, and the small keeper blushes. ''I mean… you have the same face…''

Tenma looks at his brother. ''Shinsuke has a point. Are we identical or not? You'd think not, but we do look alike beside our hair and eyes…''

The monkey frowns hesitantly. ''I'm… not sure about that, actually…'' he answers after a moment. Then he raises his left hand and points at a small dark spot between his index finger and thumb.

Tenma's eyes widen, and he shows his left hand, which has the exact same spot as Saryuu has.

''Identical,'' says Shindou after he takes one look at their hands. ''Definitely identical. So many similarities can't be a coincidence.''

''So why the hair and eyes?'' asks Kariya, letting himself fall down on the couch next to Kirino.

Saru shrugs. ''Maybe it has something to do with the genes…''

Kariya seems more interested in continuing their question game. ''Do you have any other similarities?'' he asks the twins.

They look at each other, interested in finding out how alike they are. ''Sweet tooth?'' asks Tenma, and Saryuu nods.

''Morning person?'' asks the white-haired boy.

The brunet grins. ''Soccer before breakfast is great. Books or movies?''

''Movies,'' answers the other. ''Peanut butter cookies?''

Tenma shrugs. ''Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are tastier, but they're not bad.''

''True.''

''Inside or outside?''

''Outside, of course,'' answers Saryuu in a 'duh' voice, Tenma nodding. ''Favorite pastime?''

''Soccer!'' is Tenma's response. ''But I also like games.''

''Same. What food will you absolutely not, under any circumstances, eat?''

Tenma thinks for a moment, then shivers. ''Natsumi-san's food.'' His eyes are shadowed by his bangs, a dark, depressed aura surrounding him. His brother sweat-drops.

Their game is interrupted by a peeping sound. Saru takes out a strange device. It's made of metal, in the form of a small, thin cylinder, with a few small buttons on it. A small blue light is flicking on and off.

The Lagoon's captain pushes on a button and a hologram appears above the device, showing Meia. She's standing on a soccer field, and in the background are a few playors of El Dorado's teams and Feida's teams.

'' _Hey Saryuu!''_ greets the lavender-haired girl. _''Where are you?''_

''Raimon's suite,'' answers the captain. ''Why? What are you guys doing at the field?''

Suddenly another person appears next to Meia. _''We're gonna play a few matches!''_ Beta smiles happily. _''Do you want to come too?''_ Suddenly her eyes sharpen. _''But be prepared to get your asses kicked!''_

Saryuu looks around questioningly, earning a few nods. ''Sure. We'll see you there in five?''

'' _Of course!''_ says Meia, and the hologram disappears.

Saru puts the small device back in his pocket and stands up, offering a hand to his twin. ''Ready for some soccer?''

''Of course!''

* * *

A few minutes later, about the half of the Raimon, Chrono Storm, The Lagoon and the Protocol Omega teams are done warming up. For the next hour they play some short matches, something the Omega and Feida players aren't used to.

During one of their breaks, Tenma spots his brother catching his breath a few feet away from the rest of the players. He walks towards the white-haired boy, holding out a water bottle.

Saru looks up surprised when someone holds out a water bottle. His eyes immediately fall on the smiling face of his twin, and the white-haired captain smiles as he takes the bottle. ''Thanks,'' he mutters, taking a sip. ''Do you guys always train like this?'' he asks, thinking about the easy, short matches.

The other shakes his head. ''No, our training is a lot harder than this. We just play these kind of matches for fun!''

''For fun, huh?'' mutters the older, drinking some of the water in deep thought. ''I guess it's… nice.''

Suddenly a certain rabbit joins them. ''Hey,'' greets Fei with a smile. ''Have you already talked to Toudou-san?''

Saryuu shakes his head. ''No, we tried to go earlier today but he was busy. He told us to come back after dinner.''

''Hey guys! Let's continue!'' Kariya's shout interrups their conversation, and a moment later the three join their friends.

* * *

''Where have you two been?'' asks Shindou when Tenma and Saryuu enter the dining room. The two are late, and the other teams are already eating their dinner.

The two sit down next to each other. ''Nowhere interesting,'' answers Tenma.

They both help themselves to some food. Saryuu looks at what his twin has on his plate and raises an eyebrow. ''No carrots?''

The brunet shrugs. ''I don't like carrots.''

''Why not?''

The other tilts his head and frowns in thought. ''Hmm… I don't know. I just don't like them.''

His twin stares at him in disbelief. ''But… but they're carrots! How can you not like them?'' he asks desperately.

Tenma sweat-drops. ''Um… everyone likes different things?''

''But they're _carrots!_ ''

''What is so special about carrots?''

Saru mutters something under his breath and looks away. Tenma leans closer. ''What? I didn't hear you.''

The other blushes. ''They're… orange.''

''…''

''What?'' asks Saryuu, going into defensive mode. ''I like orange!''

''That doesn't mean you have to like orange food! I like green, but that doesn't mean I like all vegetables!''

Saru crosses his arms stubbornly. ''No, obviously. You don't like carrots.''

''Carrots are not green!''

''So are you saying you like all green food?''

''No, I was saying I don't.''

''That's not strange. It's green.''

''Do you have a problem with green?''

''Only that it's not orange.''

''Not everything orange is nice!''

''It's still better than green!''

By now the two are glaring at each other and everyone has stopped order in favor of looking at the strange argument.

Shinsuke stares at his captain. ''I've never seen Tenma so worked up before…''

''True…'' Shindou sweat-drops. ''Is this what they call a 'siblings quarrel'?'' he asks Tsurugi, who is sitting next to him.

''I've had fights with my brother before, but it's never been so… pointless,'' says Tsurugi, his usual serious expression replaced by a disbelieving one. ''Still, I never thought Tenma could be so…''

''Illogical?'' asks Hamano, who is thoroughly enjoying the show.

Shindou shakes his head before Tsurugi can answer. ''Nah, he's been illogical before. More like irrational.''

Tenma's next shout gets their attention back. ''There are a lot of things that aren't orange that taste good!''

''I never said orange food is the only good food!'' replies Saryuu, and the spectators can swear he has a tick mark on his forehead. ''It's just better than green!''

''Green is a great color!''

''Orange is better!''

''Says the one who walks around like a human carrot!''

The others in the room can almost swear they can see flames behind the white-haired boy. ''I am not a walking carrot, idiot!''

Tenma is thoroughly unimpressed. ''Maybe you should shut your mouth already!''

Saryuu blinks, not understanding his brother's words. ''Why?''

The brunet smiles innocently. ''It's better to let someone think you're an idiot than to open your mouth and prove it.''

''Wow… never thought Tenma knew such insults,'' mutters Shindou quietly, earning nods from his friends.

Saryuu looks hurt for a moment, but then the fire is back. '"And you say _I'm_ evil? At least I'm not ugly!''

''Are you saying I'm ugly?''

''No, I'm just saying hell is wallpapered with all your deleted selfies!''

Shinsuke chuckles awkwardly. ''He does realize they've got the same face, right?''

''You are so ugly when you looked in the mirror your reflection walked away!''

The small keeper sweat-drops at Tenma's response. ''…Right?''

Tsurugi leans back, looking very impressed. ''Never knew Tenma could be so…''

''Bitchy,'' finishes Kurama, shrugging when everyone looks at him. ''What? It's true.''

''Reflections can't walk, idiot,'' says Saru, and then fakes shock. ''Wait. Calling you an idiot would be an insult to all stupid people!''

''People like you.'' Tenma's sweet, innocent smile widens, and the people present can swear devil horns are growing from his head.

''Did you just say I was stupid?''

''I didn't say you _were_ stupid. I said you _are_ stupid. There's nothing past tense about it.''

'' _You're_ the idiot here, not me! Tell me, are you always this stupid or is this a special occasion?''

''You know, you're not stupid. You just have bad luck when it comes to thinking.''

''I would love to insult you, but that's beyond your level of intelligence!''

''I would ask you how old you are but I know you can't count that high!''

Shindou's sweat-drop grows. ''They're the same age.''

Saryuu's voice interrupts him. ''Keep talking, someday you'll say something intelligent!''

Tenma doesn't even think. ''You know how you're always going on about being part of the evolved generation? Turns out, you're right!''

Kirino blinks. ''How is that an insult?''

But Tenma isn't done yet. ''You're proof that evolution CAN go in reverse! From human to monkey, shall we say!''

Fei burst out laughing. ''Oh wow, that's a good one!'' he says, and the others laugh.

Meia chuckles. ''Yeah, no one has ever talked to Saru like that!''

''I'm starting to like Matsukaze more by the second,'' agrees Gillis.

Tsurugi raises an eyebrow. ''You do know he's technically insulting you too, right?''

The greenhead shrugs. ''Who cares? This is way too good!''

The twins glare at each other, and then turn their backs to each other in perfect sync, both stubbornly looking away.

After a few moments it becomes clear the two aren't continuing their fight, and slowly everyone focuses on their dinner again. Eventually the twins both turn back to their food, pointedly ignoring each other.

Suddenly Shindou sighs, and Kirino looks at him. The game maker is staring at the twins, and the pink-haired defender raises an eyebrow. ''What's wrong?''

His friend smiles good-naturally. ''I wonder how we're ever going to survive those two together.''

Kirino smiles and looks at the two boys too. ''Yeah. It seems one moment they're getting along perfectly, and the next they look ready to strangle each other.''

''That's how siblings are, I guess,'' comes Taiyou's input. ''And those two have a lot to catch up on.''

Kirino nods. ''True.''

* * *

Tenma and Saryuu walk silently through the hallways, still ignoring each other. The silence is only broken by their footsteps, the sound echoing around them.

Simultaneously, they stop and turn to each other.

''Gomen!'' they both say at the same time, then proceed to look up surprised. For a moment, they keep quiet but then laugh at the same time.

''We really are twins, aren't we?'' says Tenma softly, gazing at the face of his other half.

Saryuu smirks. ''Told you, otouto.'' Then he continues walking. ''Come on, we've got to talk to Toudou-san.''

A few minutes later they enter the office of El Dorado's leader. The man is sitting behind a desk, piles of paperwork lying on it. He gestures to two chairs standing in front of his desk as he signs another paper. The twins share a look and sit down quietly.

After signing another paper, Toudou looks up. ''What is it?''

Saru speaks up. ''We want to know what's going to happen now.''

Toudou inspects him silently, and Saru stares back without showing any emotion on his face. Then Toudou's eyes shift to Tenma, and the brunet fights to keep the nervousness from his face. His brother grips his hand under the desk, giving it a reassuring squeeze yet keeping his face blank.

After a moment the man nods. ''Raimon and Chrono Storm will return to their original time. The children of Feida will go back to their homes and families and are offered a scholarship to a new school we will open for the Protocol Omega teams. They will learn like other normal children, but will help El Dorado keep the peace in the meantime. Children without a family to return to will live in the school, together with some of the Protocol Omega members. We will stop changing timelines and leave everything as it should be.''

Tenma and Saryuu listen anxiously to the explanation. When the man finishes, they keep quiet for a while, trying to process the new information. Then Saru slowly nods. ''I would like permission to travel to the past whenever I want.'' He speaks clearly, without hesitation.

Toudou frowns. ''Why?'' he deadpans.

Saru sighs and looks down, the first emotion he has shown on his face since entering the office. ''I'm sure you remember my parents, Naomi and Shou Evan.''

The man nods, something akin to sorrow on his face. ''Yes, Naomi and Shou were two of my top scientists. Their death was a great loss, both as my employees and my friends. What about them?''

The white-haired boy can't hide the pain in his eyes at the reminder of his parents. ''Well… I'm sure you also remember that I originally had a brother?''

''Of course I do. I still remember how defeated your parents were by his death.''

''The truth his…'' Saryuu hesitates, and Tenma squeezes his hand. The older twin hides a smile and looks up with a determined look on his face. ''My brother didn't die.''

Toudou can't hide the shock on his face. ''What?!''

''When I was three, my powers started to develop, and my brother stayed normal. But what my parents didn't tell you was that my brother and I both had Second Stage genes.''

El Dorado's leader freezes, awe and shock clear on his face. ''Second Stage Twins…'' he whispers, and Saru nods.

''Yes. And my parents knew that.'' He pauses for a moment to rearrange his thoughts. ''While my powers developed, my brother's didn't. That's why they sent him away, so that we wouldn't be killed.''

''Your brother is alive…'' whispers Toudou shocked. ''Naomi and Shou's second son…'' he then looks at Saru. ''Where is he? Where did they send him?!''

''The past,'' answers Saryuu. ''They used Gene Search on him.''

Toudou leans back in his chair and curses under his breath. ''They were always reckless…''

He looks at the two boys, and suddenly his eyes widen. ''You've got the same faces. Don't tell me…''

Saru smiles at his brother, then turns back to El Dorado's leader. ''Tenma is my twin brother.''

For a long while, the office is silent as Toudou goes over everything he just learned. Then he sighs and rests his elbows on his desk. ''I see. Your brother has to go back to the past due to the Gene Search, and you two don't want to split up after having found each other.'' The twins nod though it wasn't a question. ''As El Dorado's leader, my answer is no.''

The two boys freeze, and Saru is already opening his mouth to protest. Toudou holds up a hand to stop him, eyes and expression unreadable. ''Yet as Naomi and Shou's friend… I say yes. Now this doesn't mean this comes without rules,'' he adds when he sees the happiness in their eyes. He points to Saru. ''You cannot interfere with any major events, understand?'' Saryuu nods quietly. ''The timeline _has_ to be safe and secured.''

''Of course, sir,'' says Tenma, the first time he speaks since entering the office.

Toudou's lips twitch upwards slightly, almost unnoticeably. ''I will make sure everything is arranged. Now go, I need to finish my paperwork.''

The two stand up in perfect sync, followed by a bow. ''Thank you!'' the two voices say at the exact same time, and a moment later they leave the answer.

Once the door closes behind them, Saryuu immediately throws his arms around his laughing twin. ''Yes! We did it! We've got permission!''

Tenma just laughs, too ecstatic to say something. Saryuu doesn't seem to mind, and instead pulls the younger twin away from the door. ''You know,'' starts the older brother, ''we should celebrate this.''

''How?'' asks Tenma curiously, and is rewarded by an evil smirk.

''We have _a lot_ to catch up on,'' starts the older. ''And more than half of the people here don't know about us being twins. The other half doesn't think they should look out for us.''

Tenma's eyes widen when he realizes what his brother is implying. ''But…'' he starts hesitantly. ''I've never done something like that before…''

Saru shrugs. ''I haven't either, too busy with Feida's leader.'' Then he grins again. ''But I'm sure the two of us, the evil mastermind and the lovable soccer freak, can think of something, right?''

The brunet bites his lip. ''You sure…?''

''Of course!'' the white-haired teen's grin widens. ''Come on, it'll be fun! Nothing harmful!''

Tenma hesitates for a moment longer, and then slowly nods. ''Okay.'' A smile appears on his face.

Saryuu cheers. ''Yes! Imagine what we can do!''

His brother's smile turns into an evil smirk equal to the one Saru has, something rare. ''This is gonna be great.''

The older twin holds up a hand and the younger gives him a high five. The two share similar smirks. Two voices simultaneously ring through the hallway.

''Prank war!''

* * *

 **Next chapter, the prank war! I've got a few ideas, but if you think of something, please let me know in the reviews~!**

 **I'm not sure when the next chapter will be ready, I just write when I feel like it. I also don't know how long it will be, I just finish it when I think it's ready.**

* * *

 **Also I apologize if Tenma and Saryuu seem OOC. It's just, I think they would act different around each other. In my eyes, they provoke each other and can have very weird fights, or they can be the best of friends. If you don't like it, I apologize, but this is the way my story is going to be.**

 **And yes, most of the insults came from internet XD**

* * *

 **See ya next time~!**

 **\- Yara Meijer**


	3. Twins: Saryuu vs Beta

**Hey guys!**

 **So, I finally wrote chapter three. No prank war, sorry, that'll come later, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

 **Onto the reviews!**

 _ **Aquila Aqua:**_ **I'm glad you liked it!**

 _ **seshhxkagii99:**_ **I'm happy you enjoy this chapter and sorry for the wait!**

 _ **TokusatsuLuv:**_ **I'm glad you liked it! Prank war will come in another chapter!**

 _ **qaust:**_ **I'm happy you liked it!**

 _ **IeGBestfriend:**_ ***snorts* wow Ath, that review... it's so... _wow._ You were so awed of me back then, where has that respect gone~? XD**

 _ **mikan26:**_ **Glad you liked it!**

 _ **Roxie11:**_ **Happy you enjoyed it!**

 _ **ChaosDragonPrincess:**_ **I'm glad you liked it and yes, Saryuu is going to meet the Earth Eleven eventually.**

 _ **Mizuki Kokoa:**_ **I'm glad you liked it, Saryuu is awesome!**

 _ **ScuroCielo27:**_ **Hai hai~**

 _ **rashmi:**_ **Thanks!**

 _ **guest:**_ **Right here!**

 **Disclaimer: don't own**

 **Now, enjoy!**

* * *

''… _why_ do you have sheep?''

Well, that's something Tenma didn't think he'd ever ask.

Saryuu scratched the back of his head sheepishly. ''They're not my sheep,'' he mutters in defense. ''They're Feida's.''

The brunet raises his eyebrows. ''Really,'' he says dryly. ''And who is Feida's emperor again?'' at that, the white-haired teen pointedly looks away. ''So why did Fei, Meia-san and Gillis-san allow you to keep sheep?''

Saru mutters something. When the younger boy merely looks at him in confusion, he repeats it, louder this time. ''They… didn't.'' he clears his throat, a light blush dusting his face. ''They're not exactly… aware of the sheep.''

''They're your most trusted comrades, aren't they?''

Feida's ex-emperor nods slowly.

''…does _anyone_ know of these sheep?''

Saru winces. ''You do?''

Tenma stares at him for a single beat and then turns around and stalks away. His brother watches him go, mouth agape, and then quickly chases after him. ''Wait- where are you going?''

''To tell your friends that you have a secret sheep farm.''

''You can't!'' The older twin finally manages to catch up to his brother. ''No, seriously, Tenma- not yet! There's still a few hours left!''

That only causes the brunet's confusion to grow and he finally halts. ''A few hours left? Saryuu, what are you on about?''

The white-haired boy chuckles sheepishly, suddenly finding the wall very interesting. ''Well… about a year ago, someone challenged my authority as emperor of Feida. Said I couldn't keep a secret if my life depended on it,'' he scoffs, forgetting his embarrassment for a minute. ''Apparently, I'd reveal us all to El Dorado because it'd be less obvious if I started walking around dressed as a Christmas tree while shouting to the world that I am- was a Second Stage Child.''

''And… how exactly did this lead to the sheep?''

Saryuu scowls. ''Fei, Gillis and Meia agreed with the troublemaker. Kind of. Said I wasn't a very good liar and not a master strategist either. Also, they claimed that I'd probably ruin something by pure clumsiness if left to my own devices.''

Tenma only grows more confused. ''I don't understand… why the sheep?''

''Well,'' huffs his twin, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning – though it looks more pouting – at the ground, ''they said I couldn't hide anything from them. Said I'm as bad at keeping secrets as I would be at farming. I couldn't very well let them get away with that.''

''I… see?'' his younger brother blinks, completely bewildered as he stares at his twin. ''And what did you mean when you said there were only a few hours left…?''

Saru's face turns red, but whether it's from embarrassment or anger, Tenma doesn't know. ''I said I could totally succeed at farming and keeping secrets from them. And, well, Fei said that he'd take everything back if I managed to stay in the presence of a sheep for more than an hour without getting hurt, or messing up, or dying in some horribly humiliating way.'' He huffs again, clearly still insulted by the remark. ''Then Gillis and Meia said that they'd do the same if I managed to keep a secret from them for a year.''

Raimon's captain is starting to see where this is leading towards. ''So… you got a bunch of sheep without telling anyone so that you could take care of them and prove Fei wrong,'' he says slowly, ''and you kept them hidden from everyone to prove Meia-san and Gillis-san wrong.''

Saryuu nods, his frown-pout turning into a devious grin. ''I knew you'd understand my reasoning,'' he says cheerfully. ''And in a few hours, it will be exactly one year since that conversation and I will have won.''

The brunet stares at his twin for a very, very long time, and then decides that he really doesn't want to get involved.

* * *

Tenma is seriously doubting the life choices that have led him to this moment, staring at the six sheep. They either stare back in disinterest or don't bother to pay attention to him in the first place. All of them are also in various states of eating grass.

He's not entirely sure how Saru managed to get his sheep inside El Dorado's headquarters.

He's… also not entirely sure how Saru managed to bring the sheep _and_ a field of grass.

Should grass even grow inside?

Instead of contemplating his life choices any further, he focuses on his twin, who is currently in the process of trying to introduce the sheep.

The sheep won't look at him.

The sheep also won't make room for him to get a good look at them and discern which sheep is which.

And, because clearly this has to be a dream and Tenma would much rather play along than lose his mind to this madness, he offhandedly suggest, ''if you give them differently colored bows, telling them apart would be much easier.''

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Saryuu returns with six ribbons, one for each sheep.

Tenma really, really regrets ever opening his mouth.

And he hasn't even had breakfast yet!

* * *

Breakfast is not, by any means, better than the 'morning stroll' Saru took him on.

At least the sheep didn't make any noise.

Unlike the ex-Second Stage Children.

Or the El Dorado agents.

Tenma really, really regrets ever getting out of bed.

Instead he ducks his head to avoid being hit by a carrot. A very orange carrot. Orange that reminds him of his newly discovered twin brother. The twin brother who is currently waging war.

''You're a dictator, Saru! A dictator, I tell you!'' screams Meia furiously, _and oh god_ where _did she get that gun?!_

''All for the greater good, my lovely Meia! The survival of our kind was at stake!''

He then has to dodge- _something,_ it's so fast Tenma can't see what exactly it is. ''Are you flirting with my girlfriend?!'' demands Gillis. ''Prepare to die!'' then he jumps on Saru and the ex-emperor is too busy to not be murdered by a furious boyfriend to go on with his speech.

Eventually Gillis is captured and pulled away from Saryuu. The monkey boy himself stands up, looking a little worse for wear after his friend's ferocious attack, and clears his throat. ''A traitor to his own friends! Get him off of my half!''

And then comes Meia, who attacks the teens holding Gillis, and saves her boyfriend. The two then retreat to the other side of the room, where most of the El Dorado kids – and some Feida teens as well – are gathered. ''We come searching for sanctuary!'' yells Meia. ''May we join you?''

Beta ignores both Alpha and Gamma and instead immediately nods. ''Permission to join us,'' she says and Gillis and Meia quickly run towards her. Once there, Beta embraces Meia dramatically. ''Oh my poor dear! Don't worry, you're safe here! We girls have to stick together!''

''Hey! I don't agree with this!'' protests Gamma.

Beta and then proceeds to kick both him and Alpha out, who are then forced to join Saru's side.

''Surrender and we will not destroy you!''

''Never!''

The two leaders – Beta and Saru – glare at each other. ''If you will not give up, we will have to force you!''

Saryuu snorts at her words. ''As if you can!''

''Fine!''

''Fine!''

And then both, at the same time, declare, ''this means war!''

Tenma really, really regrets coming to breakfast today.

* * *

''My twin is crazy.''

Tenma drops on the couch as he says that, attracting a few raised eyebrows from his teammates.

''We're well aware of that,'' says Tsurugi dryly. ''Though I believe we thought he was getting better.''

''Why couldn't we just have gone home without ever finding out that he's my brother?''

''That would've been perfect,'' says another voice from the doorway, and Fei stumbles into Raimon's living quarters. He then proceeds to fall on the same couch as Tenma, since there's enough room for two people, and gives a heavy sigh. ''He started another war. I thought one was good enough, but noooooo he just _had_ to start another one!''

''What happened?'' asks Shindou, taking mercy on the two of them. It's been two hours since breakfast and three more until lunch.

Tenma did not believe someone could cause so much trouble before lunch.

He clearly underestimated his twin.

''He's fighting Beta,'' groans Fei. ''It's been two hours full of planning, attacking and defending in order to conquer 'land' for their sides. Saryuu got the swimming pool, the observatory, the medical wing, the garages, the main hall, the inside training rooms and the eastern wing, including Raimon's quarters. Beta has the cinema, the observation deck, the inside theatre, both of the smaller halls and the southern and western wings. They've left the northern wing alone, since no one wants to get on Toudou-san's bad side, and both the outside fields and the kitchen are neutral ground.''

''He's made the observatory his main base,'' adds Tenma silently. ''And he insisted on dragging both of us along for the ride, even though we said we didn't want any part in it. You don't know how terrifying it is when you're almost captured by an angry Meia-san.'' He shudders in fear at the memories.

Fei shoots him a teasing look. ''Be glad she doesn't know you're twins, then she'd really have hunted you down. Perfect for the role of hostage – how could Saryuu ever allow anyone to hurt his baby brother?''

Fei is then hit in the face with a pillow.

''Don't call me that,'' mutters Tenma, hiding his face in another pillow.

The green-haired boy looks insulted for a minute, then decides it's not worth it and instead stuffs the pillow under his head. ''Wake me up when I'm dead.''

* * *

That, unfortunately for Fei, doesn't happen.

He's woken up roughly when the door to Raimon's common room is violently thrown open. Beta, Meia, Gillis and a few others storm inside. ''We have come to conquer your lands!'' cries Beta. ''Soldiers, attack! If anyone fights back, have no mer-''

Beta is shut up when a pillow hits her face.

Stunned silence follows. Which is then broken by a pissed off voice.

''Shut. The hell. Up.'' Tenma glares from where he's lying on the couch, seemingly just having woken up. ''I have been dragged around since seven in the morning. I have been forced to run around 'conquering lands' because Saryuu wouldn't listen to me when I said I didn't want to. I have been almost captured and tossed around like a ragdoll. Simply said, I am pissed. I don't care what you do, as long as you _let me sleep.''_

He then proceeds to lay back down, close his eyes, and pointedly ignore the invaders.

Beta stares for a long while.

She then turns her gaze to the rest of the room.

No one pays her any attention, all continuing whatever they were doing, except for Shindou, who looks up from his book.

She raises an eyebrow. ''You're not going to fight back?''

Shindou shakes his head. ''You can have this part, as long as you leave us alone.'' He shrugs. ''I don't even know what's going on, I've been here all morning. Feel free to 'conquer' us or something.'' He pauses for a moment. ''If someone brings us sandwiches, that is. Lunch isn't in another two hours and I'm hungry.''

Beta blinks and then orders one of her comrades to get sandwiches for Raimon.

Shindou goes back to his book.

And that's that.

* * *

By the time lunch rolls around, Raimon's grounds have been conquered by Beta six times, and taken back by Saryuu just as many.

After the third time, some picked sides.

The still-neutrals now include Shindou, Tsurugi, Kirino, Sangoku, Hayami, Ichino, Aoyama and Akane. Tenma tried to stay with them, but Saryuu wouldn't let him.

Everyone else was pretty much dragged along.

The neutrals somehow managed to keep doing their normal things.

It's very impressive how Shindou could read his book peacefully, despite the war shouts and cries around him. The game maker in question didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. Instead he enjoyed his sandwiches.

Tenma is very, very jealous.

He has almost been captured four times now, two of which are Saru's fault, and Fei actually was held hostage for thirty minutes or so before he could bribe one of his guards to let him go.

Then he proceeded to join Saru's side again, for the simple reason that the monkey emperor wouldn't leave him be anyway.

That said monkey emperor hasn't locked him up in an empty room may also have something to do with it.

Lunch is less eventful than breakfast. For now.

The hostility is still there.

But more than hostile, they are teenagers. Correction, they are hungry teenagers.

A truce is called in place for thirty minutes.

Anyone still eating after those thirty minutes will become a victim of the not-neutral-anymore-dining-room.

No surprise it's mostly silent as everyone focuses on eating quickly.

Five minutes before the truce ends, Tenma, Fei and the neutral Raimon members escape the dining room.

They are on their way to Raimon's quarters when the shouting starts again.

* * *

Saru has revealed his sheep.

He, together with Gamma and Alpha, somehow managed to lead all of them inside Beta's territory without being noticed. He then freed them inside the observation deck – which is apparently Beta's headquarters – and created chaos amongst the enemy's ranks.

He has also pissed Beta off majorly.

If the fighting was bad before, it's now horrible.

Tenma is dragged along for the ride again. So are Raimon's other neutral members, 'for their own safety', though their captain suspects they were bribed with more sandwiches.

Everyone somehow ends up in the main hall, Saryuu desperately attempting to defend his lands while Beta's violent personality has taken over and is trying to destroy everything. Raimon's neutral members are gathered in a corner, around a plate of sandwiches, and are practically left alone. Shindou has put his book away to watch the chaos.

Tenma is merely trying to survive.

He's doing quite a good job at it, too, until Gillis manages to catch him.

And then ties him up.

''Saryuu!'' he yells. ''Little help here!''

His older brother looks at him from where he is standing on a platform, directing the battle.

He then jumps down from said platform and storms towards his twin. Said twin can swear flames are rising up behind the furious monkey emperor, and that his eyes are glinting violently.

Tenma suddenly regrets calling for Saru.

He looks furious.

''GILLIS!'' and the scene from this morning is repeated. Only this time, Saryuu is the one to lunge at Gillis, not the other way around.

While Feida's ex-emperor is doing that, Beta directs her Raimon forces – namely Kurumada, Nishiki, Amagi, Hikaru, Shinsuke, Midori and Hamano – to drag the pretty-much-helpless brunet away.

Wrong choice.

''LET MY BROTHER GO!''

Complete and utter silence as everyone stares at the very, very furious, overprotective Saryuu, then at the still tied up Tenma, and then just proceed to look between the two of them.

The younger twin shoots his brother a dry look. ''Well, that's one way to reveal it.''

The battle then continues.

* * *

''You're Saryuu's brother?'' asks Meia, looking curious and shocked at the same time. ''Like, same parents? Not just ancestor or something?''

Tenma has been captured by Beta. Not that he put up much of a fight.

The last thing he saw of Saru was the older twin furiously slaughtering anyone who stood in his way.

At least, the brunet reflects, he isn't tied up anymore. Instead he's been brought to Beta's headquarters in the observation deck. The sheep are standing close by, unharmed and calm once again.

Tenma has promised not to try anything funny if he got sandwiches, which they gave him and, as promised, he doesn't try anything funny.

Instead he eats his sandwiches.

Very nice sandwiches.

He can understand why Shindou likes them.

''Yep,'' he answers finally. ''Found out a few days ago.''

Meia stares at him with wide eyes. So does Gillis. Even Beta looks a little stunned.

''How?'' asks Gillis weakly.

Tenma stares at him for a second and then promptly decides to take a leaf out of Saru's book. ''Well, if a man and a woman love each other very much-''

''Not that!'' protests Meia once she realizes what he's saying, blushing slightly. ''How are you two brothers when you're from the past?''

The brunet shrugs. ''Apparently, once my mother and father found out that Saryuu had Second Stage Powers, they didn't want to endanger us and so they separated us. Used some fancy technology to send me back in time without damaging the timeline.''

Meia and Gillis seem to accept that, but Beta frowns. ''Why would it endanger you if your brother was a Second Stage Child?'' she asks, confused.

Well, he's revealed this much.

''Apparently we're Second Stage Twins.''

Saryuu, who is waiting outside for the right moment to save his little brother, takes his chance to attack when everyone within hearing distance of Tenma stares at him, stunned and speechless.

He also takes his sheep back.

Once they're well on their way back to Saru's grounds, the older twin grins at his younger brother. ''You know, you should thank me for saving you, baby brother.''

Tenma hits him.

''Don't call me that. You're the reason I got in this mess in the first place. Also, they had sandwiches and you don't.''

Saryuu finally manages to calm him down with the promise of no more missions and as many sandwiches as he can dream of.

* * *

''Welcome back. Sandwich?''

Tenma takes the sandwich Shindou offers him and takes a bite. It's cheese. Very nice cheese.

''Thank you,'' he says once he's eaten about half of his sandwich. ''Beta had sandwiches, but these are better.''

The older midfielder smiles. ''I made them myself.''

Huh. Apparently Shindou is not only a game maker and strategist, he's also a great sandwich maker.

''You are now Raimon's official sandwich maker, congratulations,'' says Tenma between bites.

Tsurugi rolls his eyes from where he's sitting on the opposite couch. ''You can't give everyone in the Raimon team roles.''

''Hush. I'm the captain, I can do what I want.'' Tenma takes another bite from his sandwich. ''Besides, you can't deny that Shindou-senpai makes great sandwiches.''

Tsurugi doesn't dare respond to that, seeing as he's about to take a bite of his own sandwich.

* * *

Dinner rolls around a few hours later and Tenma managed to stay out of the war.

Fei is not so lucky.

Fei is covered in something that looks suspiciously like flour and glitter.

So are Beta, Gillis and Alpha.

Tenma pointedly decides not to ask.

''So… you're the monkey's brother.''

The brunet is slightly surprised to find Gamma suddenly talking to him. He is less surprised to see that everyone else is watching him as well.

''I am.''

Gamma winces. ''Poor you.''

''Hey!'' bristles Saryuu.

Tenma ignores his twin and nods in gratitude. ''Thank you. It's a burden almost too heavy to carry, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone else, so I'm afraid I have to live with it.''

Saryuu gapes at him.

Gamma solemnly bows his head. ''That is very noble of you,'' he says. ''We are not worth your sacrifice.''

Feida's ex-emperor is looking very, very angry by now.

And also kind of hurt.

But only when he looks at Tenma.

''What did I ever do to you?'' Oh. So that's why he looks hurt.

The brunet shrugs. ''You were born first,'' he says, holding up a finger. He adds a second one. ''Then you decided to become an evil monkey emperor,'' cue third finger, ''you started two wars-''

''One wasn't even my fault!''

''-and managed to drag me into them… well, the first was unintentionally, so I guess I'll forgive you for that. Still, that doesn't excuse the fact that you dragged me along today. You also let me almost get captured various times and then actually let me get captured. No good big brother behavior.''

Saryuu frown-pouts.

Beta snickers. ''Well, we must expect primitive behavior from primitive lifeforms like monkeys.''

The war then continues.

Tenma, along with Fei and Raimon's neutral members, flees the scene, back to Raimon's quarters. Once they've reached the common room, the brunet falls down on one of the couches.

''I didn't even get to eat dinner,'' he mourns.

''I suspected we couldn't eat in peace, so I made some more sandwiches,'' says Shindou, pointing to a plate in their small kitchen. ''Want one?''

Tenma stares for a long, long moment.

''Shindou-senpai, if it wouldn't be really awkward, I would fall to my knees right now and declare my undying love for your insight and your sandwiches.''

Shindou raises an amused brow. ''Should I take that as a yes?''

''Heck yeah.''

* * *

 **I really, really loved Shindou in this.**

 **I also have no idea how I came up with this, but it was fun XD**

 **\- Yara Meijer**


End file.
